Oral health in the context of prevention of absenteeism and presenteeism in the workplace

Abstract

| Background: Oral health is an important factor of human morbidity worldwide. Yet is often neglected in occupational health despite its direct impact on the quality of life and health of workers. Objective: To discuss the role of oral health in sickness absence and presenteeism, as well as in development and work efficiency improvement processes involving governments, companies and the workers themselves. Methods: Review of full-text articles on oral health, occupational health, sickness absence and presenteeism published in English or Portuguese in the last 10 years and included in scientific databases. Results: Oral problems accounted for 9 to 27% cases of sickness absence and 28 to 50% of presenteeism, with toothache and temporomandibular joint pain as the most frequent reasons. About 50% of workers prefer company-provided dental care, while 40% visit public and 10% other types of facilities. Despite high, the prevalence of oral diseases and orofacial pain was not associated with high rates of absenteeism, but mainly with presenteeism, this is to say, workers do not tend to miss work days, but their performance is reduced and become susceptible to more serious health problems in the future. Conclusion: Oral health is not dissociated from general and occupational health, and as such it must be enhanced and duly promoted in an integrated manner. Effective and comprehensive oral health promotion and prevention public policies and private sector actions in the workplace can enhance the quality of life of workers.

Association between overtime work hours and preventive dental visits among Japanese workers

“…Previous research has shown that workers delay or skip preventive dental examinations because of lack of time or not wanting to burden their co-workers by delegating additional work [ 14 ]. Previous studies have also shown that workers who have more frequent dental visits are more likely to be absent from work [ 23 ]. In addition, many workers do not want to take time away from their jobs, and may therefore stop making preventive dental visits to avoid delaying or not completing work.…”

Factors associated with oral pain and oral health-related productivity loss in the USA, National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), 2015–2018

“…The prevalence of absenteeism from work or school due to dental disease varies in the literature, ranging from 9% in an Australian study to 35.1% in a Canadian study [ 7 , 30 ]. However, many of individuals still go to work and carry out daily activities while experiencing an oral pain episode (presenteeism), which can impair their productivity, promote attention loss, irritability, anxiety, and depression, and increase the risk of work-related accidents [ 5 ]. In the US, almost 321 million hours of work and school are lost per year due to dental problems, of which emergency dental treatment accounted for 92.4 million work or school hours [ 31 ].…”

“…The literature describes the importance of oral health for quality of life, as well as the impact of oral pain on daily activities, especially at work and at school [ 5 – 7 ]. In addition to causing pain, dental diseases can limit patients’ ability to properly chew, taste, swallow, smile, and find a mate.…”

“…Oral pain is also an indicator of severe disease that has been neglected, which can eventually lead to higher treatment costs for the government, health insurance companies, and individuals. The cost of oral pain is not only limited to the direct cost of treatment, but also includes the reduced productive capacity of individuals, with frequent absenteeism at school and work amounting to 33% of the indirect costs of dental care [ 2 , 4 , 5 ].…”

“…Oral problems account for 9–27% of sickness-related absences and 28–50% of presenteeism (reduction of productive capacity in the workplace) among adults, with oral pain being one of the most common reasons [ 5 ]. Poor oral health has also been associated with poor academic performance and absenteeism among students at a Brazilian university [ 6 ].…”